


Unfinished Business

by JaneTheNya



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro Lives, Akechi Goro Redemption, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:41:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24706996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaneTheNya/pseuds/JaneTheNya
Summary: The will of others can influence your world in ways you may not like. You might wish to be dead, but the bond someone has with you might keep you tethered to life. At that point, it's up to you what you do with it.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	Unfinished Business

Cognition was a strange thing. The metaverse, or at least all routes to access it, were gone, and the power of those like the Phantom Thieves to enter that world and affect the cognition of others was gone. And yet the ability to change reality through the Tricker’s will, at least as far as Goro Akechi assumed, was the reason he was currently laying down, splayed out across a couch, breathing and feeling just as if he were alive and unharmed. He knew better, but there was no denying that he was here. Alive, despite all evidence to the contrary.

The number of times he had felt over the spot his cognitive double had shot him numbered in the thousand by now, even though there was nothing to feel. On some level, it made a level of sense. He wasn’t _really_ shot, after all. But deaths that occurred in the palaces typically came to rear their head in reality, too. He knew as much from firsthand experience.

But he was not free of consequences. Using his power to turn himself psychotic all that time ago in Shido’s palace had retained some side effects, some static that wouldn’t shake, forever corrupting his mind. It hadn’t been as noticeable in Maruki’s world, likely because of the way it changed the outcome of so many events, but it was rearing its head again. Akechi had always struggled with paranoia, anxiety, a sense of mounting danger. Being a hitman for your worst enemy will do that to a person. But it had gotten worse.

It had been about a week since he’d woken up in his empty apartment, alone, as if nothing had happened. Awakening as if his last memories weren’t a stand-off with himself that resulted in an all-too-certain death. Yet through some trick of cognition, he was still here. Him, of all people. Not Okumura, not Wakaba. None of the people he’d murdered thoughtlessly, none of his victims, nobody who deserved to be alive. It was this that led him to conclude why he was here- the preservation of his being came from the cognitive will of one Amamiya Ren, the world’s biggest idiot with the world’s softest heart.

He hasn’t left the building since awakening, he didn’t dare. There were any number of reasons it could be dangerous, but more than anything, he was hopelessly afraid of returning to a normal existence as if nothing had changed, as if he had any right. Suffering under paranoid delusions, phantoms of his victims tormenting him with guilt and his biological father grimly watching the whole spectacle, felt like a fair punishment.

Today was different, though. He had decided that, if nothing else, he owed it to try and make the most surface-level of amends. If he was meant to remain here, to survive, he would have to tackle these things eventually.

And so he crawled meekly out of bed, brushed his hair, and dressed himself. Long socks. Dress pants. A long-sleeved, button-down shirt. Gloves. He picked out a tie, too, why not make it formal? He tightened it enough that there was tension against his skin, the way he imagined a noose to feel. An appropriate, albeit trivial gesture to the dead that he intended to pay for his crimes with his life, one way or another.

The burning, tingling sensation along his arms was not new, but as he walked the backstreets on his way to LeBlanc, it was certainly distracting. He sighed, the knowledge of what he was doing striking him every few seconds with a refreshed terror. Still, it would have to happen eventually.

He only hoped Ren would be at the café, as to his knowledge, he’d be moving in with his new family at some point- Sakura, the daughter of the woman Akechi had murdered, would become a sister to Ren. It was miserably perfect enough that he couldn’t help but laugh. Of course Akechi would kill an innocent woman and leave her daughter in a cognitive hell, and years later, Ren would become that girl’s brother. There was no clearer illustration of the difference between the two.

The bell atop the door chimed as Akechi entered what he knew well enough would be an empty café. A small black cat with white paws and a yellow bandana tied around its neck jumped down from a stack of boxes and made eye contact with Akechi, who instantly turned away. The pieces clicked in his mind immediately.

“Ah, I see,” he mumbled to himself.

The cat- Morgana- stared at him for awhile, before finally speaking, a simple distant murmur: “Akechi…” His voice wasn’t angry, like Akechi had hoped. It was… sad, longing, almost relieved. And that was maddening.

“Hey, kid,” came the tired voice of one Shojiro Sakura, LeBlanc’s owner. He knew what had happened, too. But he refused to get angry or to blame Akechi or scream and kick him out. Even more infuriating. “Been awhile since you’ve come in here. I could’ve used the business, yknow, I don’t have many regulars.”

“Why are you pretending like nothing happened?” Akechi asked, pain and bitterness dripping from his tone. The older man just glanced at him for awhile, hands frozen midway through polishing a white mug. After awhile, he gave a shrug, and returned to his work.

“Figured you’ve said to yourself anything I’d want to say to you,” came the man’s reply. “I could tell you you’re a bastard, or that you're a monster, or that I’ll never forgive you. But I bet you’ve said those things to yourself so many times that me sayin’ them wouldn’t really mean much. And besides, I don’t believe ‘em.” Silence filled the air of the small building.

It was Akechi who finally broke the silence. “You don’t… believe them? Are you… are you stupid?” His voice cracked slightly as he broke into confused, annoyed, nervous laughter. Finally, he made his way to the counter, inches away from the man, and took a seat. “I’ll have a coffee. Black.”

Sojiro smiled. “None of those lattes you used to get now and then? Guess you don’t have a fancy image to maintain anymore. Did you ever really like them?”

Akechi’s tone was still dripping with annoyance. “I never ordered popular lattes for my fans. I liked the taste. I’m ordering it black now because I haven’t slept in days.” Silence, again. Finally, the sound of a small creature leaping onto the counter. Akechi stared daggers at the feline, who was silent. “Something you’d like to say…?”

Morgana remained silent, just watching him. It was infuriating. Akechi couldn’t continue to wait, to stare, to look at Morgana. He was more than happy to lose this competition, if that’s what it was. He dropped his gaze to stare into the pitch-black surface of the coffee Sojiro had just placed in front of him, letting tears run down his face as he struggled to repress them.

Sojiro broke the silence again. “Thanks, kid. Now I can put ‘coffee so good, it’ll bring you to tears’ on a sign outside.” Akechi looked back up to meet him, teeth gritted, anger in his gaze, and instantly backed down, returning to the coffee. A reflection of himself in the liquid was barely visible, disturbed every now and again by ripples when the cup moved.

At last, the sound of footsteps on the stairs as another person came down and into the room. “What took you so long?” Akechi asked, not bothering to look up. He knew who it was.

More footsteps as the person silently walked across the room and took a seat on the stool next to Akechi. “Good to see you again,” came Ren’s voice. “I was hoping you’d show up. I had something to give you.”

Akechi couldn’t help but crack a small, amused smile. “You have something to give me? Of course you do.” Silence, for awhile, as Sojiro prepared another cup of coffee for Ren and set it in front of him. No word needed, these two were family, they knew each other’s tastes. It was so heartfelt it made Akechi sick.

“I had wanted to ask you what happened, but one look at him,” Akechi motioned with his head to the cat sitting on his other side, still just watching quietly, “was all I needed to figure it out.”

He did something in that moment on impulse, that surprised even him. He lifted an arm, offering his right hand to the cat, who curiously examined it, before giving a not. And, in a motion that surprised Akechi himself, he was soon petting Morgana.

“Your cognition had some lasting effects on reality, even as access to the metaverse changed. Your obnoxious habit of forming bonds with others allowed for the continued survival of Morgana in the real world.” He paused. “And it also allowed for the continued existence of myself. No thanks for that.”

Ren gave a quiet smile and took a drink of the coffee in front of him. “Yeah. Mona and I worked that out together, too. I’d say I’m surprised you got it so fast, but, you’re you.” Akechi scoffed, taking another drink himself.

“Ah. That’s right.” Ren sat upright, digging into a bag he had set on the floor. “We have some unfinished business.”

Akechi gave a chuckle. “Do we? Are you still holding a grudge?” Despite the casual tone of his speech, he was a bit nervous, for some reason. He was relieved when Ren slid a black leather glove across the counter to him.

“Haven’t had our duel yet,” he said as he took another sip, far too casually.

“You’re not counting what happened in Shido’s palace?” Ren shook his head in response. He set the cup down, holding some of the hair in front of his face between two fingers and rubbing them against it.

“That wasn’t really you, I don’t count it. You were also at a disadvantage, because you were emotionally distraught.” At that moment, he dropped his hand, giving a genuine, gentle smile. “I want to face the real you. My true rival.”

Akechi broke eye contact instantly, gripping an arm with his hand and devolving into laughter for a moment before getting a hold of himself. “You really never cease to surprise me. You’re one person I can never understand.”

Ren stood, pushing the now-empty cup toward Sojiro with a nod and a quiet “thanks” before turning his attention back to Akechi. “Come back tomorrow?”

Akechi sighed, finishing his cup with one last gulp and looking up at his rival. “And what do you propose, exactly? We can’t exactly use our personas anymore.”

Ren shook his head, that infuriatingly sincere smile still across his face. “I don’t wanna fight you tomorrow. We’ve got plenty of time to compete. Because you’re still here. Tomorrow, I want to celebrate.”

Akechi wasn’t expecting that, and the surprise of it caused a smile to crack across his face. “You want to throw a _party_ for me? Your would-be killer?”

Ren turned, motioning for Morgana to follow, who broke from Akechi’s petting and jumped down to follow Ren. “Yeah,” he mumbled. “Because to be honest, you were always kind of bad at hiding how you really felt. And I know you could use it.”

* * *

The next day, as they’d agreed, Akechi headed for LeBlanc at 3pm. He wore long socks, dress pants, and this time, a short-sleeved button-down shirt. He eschewed the tie this time, as well. It wasn’t a formal event.

The chime of the bell above the door came again as he entered the café. Ren was waiting at one of the booths, with Morgana sitting in front of him at the table, turning around at the noise. “Oh! He’s here,” Morgana spoke, with Ren giving a nod.

“You’re just on time,” Ren said happily, getting up from the booth and walking behind the counter. For some reason, Sojiro was absent. Ren began preparing something, slightly obscured from view, and motioned toward the booth he’d been sitting at.

Akechi gave a nod, and took his seat at the booth. Morgana, still on the table, walked along by him, rubbing the length of his body across the hand Akechi had absent-mindedly held out.

After a moment, Morgana jumped down to the seat on the other side of the booth from Akechi, as Ren approached.

Ren set down a plate with a pile of two pancakes in front of him. “You must be joking,” Akechi groaned.

Ren gave a mischievous smile. “Maybe a bit. But you like them, don’t you?”

Growling, Akechi dug a fork into the stack and took an indignant bite. “Quite a bit, actually. For a time, they were my favorite food. Can’t be certain I feel the same way now, though.”

Ren placed a plate of his own down on the other side of the table and took a seat. “Oh, don’t let one bad experience ruin ‘em for you. It’s small potatoes.”

Akechi scoffed, still refusing to make eye contact, and took another bite, hesitating to get to the point, which was unusual for him. He typically didn’t like to belabor the thing he was intending to discuss, spend as little time on pleasantries as possible, since they annoyed him. He’d come here for a reason, not just to indulge Ren in his surprise party.

For awhile, they sat in silence, eating together in the dimly-lit café, and it occurred to Akechi that he liked this. For the first time since he woke back up in his bed in his apartment, he felt safe, satisfied. He fought back tears, failing, and wiping his eyes with a napkin from the table, on the side of his plate.

“Ren,” he finally heard himself say, surprising even himself. The boy sitting across from him looked up at him, his face close to the plate as he piled bites of pancake into his mouth.

“I’ve made… a decision.” Silence. “It’s difficult, but I’ve recognized it’s what I have to do. I’d rather have died, honestly, but I didn’t have that luxury. I’m here. And since I am, I ought to make amends.”

Ren set down his fork by the side of his plate, patting down his face with his own napkin, and giving a warm smile.

“I’ve… done unforgivable things. But so long as I exist, I might as well try and atone. I’d like… I’d like to apologize to the thieves when they’re ready to see me.”

Ren nodded. Akechi avoided eye contact, staring at the syrup dripping off his stack of pancakes and giving a sad smile. “I’m… sorry to you, too, Ren. You aren’t like me. You were always better than me when it counted.”

Ren reached a hand across the table, and Akechi looked up. Ren, tears in his eyes, gave a nod. “You’re my rival. That won’t change. As long as you’re here, the road of our competition will stretch forever onward.”

Akechi nodded, taking Ren’s hand and shaking it. “Very well. Then it’s a deal.” He let out a long, exhausted sigh. He’d done something he didn’t expect he could.

From beneath the table, Morgana jumped up into the booth by Akechi, settling on his lap. “Akechi…” came the feline’s voice, proud and earnest. “Welcome back.”

Akechi wiped his eyes with the napkin again, smiling to himself. “There’s one other thing…” he mumbled. Ren tilted his head, motioning with a hand for Akechi to continue.

“You… wouldn’t happen to have any more syrup, would you?”


End file.
